Shloka 4
Yamunā–Gaṅgā Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Agni-tīrtha, Anaraka, Prayāga, and the Tapovana of Jāhnavī
अग्नितीर्थमिति ख्यातं यमुनादक्षिण तटे / पश्चिमे धर्मराजस्य तीर्थं त्वनरकं स्मृतम् / तत्र स्नात्वा दिवं यान्ति ये मृतास्ते ऽपुनर्भवाः
agnitīrthamiti khyātaṃ yamunādakṣiṇa taṭe / paścime dharmarājasya tīrthaṃ tvanarakaṃ smṛtam / tatra snātvā divaṃ yānti ye mṛtāste 'punarbhavāḥ
Am Südufer der Yamunā liegt ein heiliger Übergang, berühmt als Agni-tīrtha. Westlich davon befindet sich Dharmarājas Tīrtha, bekannt als Anaraka („der Ort ohne Hölle“). Wer dort badet, geht, selbst wenn er danach stirbt, in den Himmel ein und kehrt nicht wieder zur Geburt zurück.
Narrator (Purana narrator in the tirtha-mahatmya section; tradition attributes the teaching within the Kurma Purana’s dialogue framework)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly, through the idea of “apunarbhava” (non-return): liberation is portrayed as freedom from repeated embodiment. The verse frames tīrtha-bathing as a dharmic means that can culminate in release from saṃsāra, aligning with the Purana’s broader teaching that right action, purity, and devotion support realization and final freedom.
No formal yogic technique is prescribed; the practice is tīrtha-snāna (ritual bathing) as a discipline of purification (śauca) and dharma. In Kurma Purana’s wider spiritual framework—often linked by readers to Pāśupata-oriented devotion and inner purity—external purification supports inner steadiness and God-oriented living.
This specific verse is primarily a geography-and-merit (tīrtha-phala) statement and does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu. However, the Kurma Purana’s overall Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis treats sacred places, dharma, and liberation as ultimately grounded in the one Supreme reality revered through multiple divine forms.